Ellissa Friedman is a SPAAR Hero!

“People know when you genuinely want to help them. They see and feel it,” said Ellissa Friedman, who’s in her second year as a volunteer for Free Mom Hugs serving as an area event coordinator and for which she was named a SPAAR Hero.

Free Mom Hugs began in Oklahoma by a woman who struggled with her son coming out because it didn’t align with her conservative Christian religious values. She recognized his hurt and pain and had a change of heart. She showed her support by wearing a pin that read “Free Mom Hugs” to a Pride Festival, which today is an organization involving moms, dads, grandparents and others who provide visibility and support to the LGBTQIA+ community, even showing up for weddings and events for those whose families choose not to be there. Ellissa supports Free Mom Hugs through its Minnesota chapter.

Ellissa says she emphasizes so intimately with the feelings and challenges someone can experience and has some personal experiences having grown up with two brothers who are gay and a child who is figuring out themself.

Beyond Free Mom Hugs, Ellissa loves building community, and continues to do so in her real estate career. She and her family moved to Minnesota shortly before the Covid pandemic and Ellissa had kept in touch with the Realtor® who sold her family their home. The Realtor® invited Ellissa to work with her as the client care coordinator and now, after some experience in the business, Ellissa is celebrating her two-year anniversary as a Realtor®, coincidentally the same career her grandmother held in Connecticut.

“I brought my education past with me to this role,” said Ellissa, who studied to become a special education teacher before her move to the Midwest and before becoming a Realtor®. “Buying a home is the largest purchase of people’s lives. I think it’s important to be mindful that it’s somebody’s livelihood and a very important decision to them.”

Outside of her real estate work, Ellissa is involved with her family and volunteers for many activities including Girl Scouts and youth baseball. She also serves with many real estate groups including as a board member for the Real Estate Alliance and on SPAAR’s Housing Affordability Task Force and Community Engagement Committee.

Congratulations, Ellissa, on being named SPAAR Hero!

SPAAR Hero is a program of SPAAR’s Community Engagement Committee, sponsored by SPAAR’s REALTORS® Charitable Foundation. Members of SPAAR’s Communications Committee interview and write the SPAAR Hero articles, including this interview by Nichole Hayden.

Know someone who should be named a SPAAR Hero in 2025? Email spaar@spaar.com.